Adjustable vent for siphons.



S. E. MILLER.

ADJUSTABLE VENT FOR SIPHONS.

APrLIoe'rIoN FILED AUG. 2e, 1909.

1,087,791. Patented sept.3,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Illllllull S. F. MILLER.

ADJUSTABLE VENT FOR SIPHONS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26, 1909.

1,087,791. Patented sept. 3,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

YZ0 @MM `which said tank UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

SAMUEL F. MILLER, 0F SOUTH. ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO PACIFIG'FLUSH TANK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ADJUSTABLE VENT FOR SIPHONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 26, 1909.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL F. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and vuseful Improvements in Adjustable Vents for Siphons; and I do herebyT declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, whichpform a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic siphons designed to automatically empty the liquid contents of a tank or receptacle and particularly to a novel venting device for venting siphons/of this character, which is so constructed as to make it possible to adjust the level of the liquid in the tank at which the Siphon is vented, that is to say, the level at which air is admitted to the Siphon in order to restore the balance and stop siphonic action, to various depths below the fixed level at which air compression in the Siphon is started in order to discharge the liquid contents ot the vessel through the Siphon.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a Siphon provided with my improved vent, showing a fragment of the tank which is emptied by the Siphon, to illustrate the relation of the Siphon thereto. Fig. 2 .is a detail, sectional view on an enlarged Scale of the improved vent and of a fragment ofthe bell to which it is attached. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification of my improved vent. Fig. 4 is a vertical Section through Fig. 3 on line 4.-4 thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 5- 5 of Fig. 4, showing the manner of attaching the modiiied form of vent to the side of the bell.

` Referring tir/St to the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, A indicates a tank which is filled from any suitable source of and B indicates a deep Seal, through the medium of is to be emptied. Said Siphon is of the usual form, with its shorter leg b formed by a downwardly opening bell b1 inverted over the upper endof the upwardly extending leg b2 of a sealed-trap b3.

trapped Siphon,

The trap b3 has an outlet b4 which is shorter than the leg b2, and discharges into a pipe or conduit C, which, as Shown herein, has its bottom slightly above the level of the bottom wall of t the tank, and through which the liquld discharged by the Siphon is conveyed to any suitable place of disposal.

- As far as described the construction shown 1s of'a .well known type and forms no part of my invention.

D indicates as a whole my improved venting device which isadapted both to eii'ect the sealing of the bell for starting the siphonlc .action and to admit air into the bell to cause the siphonic action to cease when the water in the tank A has reached a-predetermined level. It has, in general, the form of a pipe or tube of U-orm comprising a longer leg d which is connected at its upper end with the interior of the bell at the top of the latter', and a shorter leg d2 connected with the'iirst named leg at its lower end by means of a U-shaped connecting pipe d3. The leg d as shown in the drawings is provided at its upper end with a thread Z1 by means of which it is connected to the wall of the bell. The height of the open upper end of the shorter leg d2 of the venting device above the bottom of the tank A determines the water level in the bell b1 when the Same is sealed, that is to say, closed against the further escape of air therefrom, since it is apparent that the level of the liquid in the bell b1 will rise equally with the level of the liquid in the tank until the escape of air from the bell is cut oft' by water iowing into the said shorter leg d2 of the venting device. Said level at which the bell is sealed is fixed and maintained constant in this case by rigidly securing the leg d2 to the leg d in an)1 convenient manner as, for example, by means of a strap or bracket d4. The level of the liquid in the tank A at which the venting of the Siphon occurs, vthat is to say, the level at which air from the tank A will enter the bell b1 and break the Siphon, is determined, as will appear later, by the level of the cross member of the U-shaped pipe d3. A principal object of the invention is to make this last named level capable `of adjustment and to this end, in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the venting device D embraces the two vertically arranged pipes d, d2, ar-

of the U-shaped pipe d.

-ing evice D, which, at this time, containsV no water. As soon as the level of the liquid "reaches the top of the `leg d2 of the venting device the liquid flows into said leg and seals the venting device so as to prevent the further escape' of air from the bell b1 which' thusl becomes sealed. The level ofthe liquid vin the tank A lthen continues to rise until it reaches-a predetermined fixed level at which the pressure of the air within the bell, under the yhead of water in the tank, becomes such as to break the water seal in the trap b3, whereupon the discharge of the liquid from the tank through said trap begins under the pressure due to the head and so con tinues until the level of the liquid in the tank A falls to a level below the upper end oflthe pipe b2, constituting the lon er leg of the siphon when siphomc action egins. Inasmuch as the atmospheric pressure by which the liquidl in the tank and in the vventing device is drawn into the bell by theY f siphonicaction is the same per` square inch j reason of the operation ofthe Siphon, passes up or j Various advantages result from the use of on the top of the liquid in the pipe b2 as Aupon the-top .of the liquid in the tank, it ,follows that the level of the liquid within the said pipe b2 will fall with the `level of the fliquid 1n the tank. This siphonic action continues as the water level 1n the tank A falls until the level of the liquid in the short leg d2 of the venting devlce, reaches the level of the cross-member of the U- shaped pipe da, when the seal therein is b roken and air, drawn by the partial vacuum existing in the top of the bell by up through the leg d of the venting device,

and entering the top of the bell equaliz'es the pressure in the bell and tank (it bein understood of course that the water in sai leg d is drawn up into said bell in advance of the air). Thisbreaks the siphon and stops the discharge of li uid from the tank. From this description o the operation it is apparent .that the level of the liquid in the tank at which the siphon will be broken `by admitting air to the top of the bell, may be varieddby adjusting the U-shaped .pipe d own.

my im roved adjustable vent providing means or determining the sealing level of the siphon and also for adjustably determining whatmay be termed the, 4low head of the siphon, that is to say, the level of the liquid in the tank when the siphon is broken.

In the emptying of a tank which is filled` from lter beds, for example, where it is reuired that the siphon shall thoroughly rain the tank, the bottom of lthe discharge pipe C is located at or near the bottom of the tank, as shown in the drawings, in order to diminish the force of the siphon as it nears the end of its period of operation and thus retard the rate of its discharge as the level of the liquid approaches the bottom of the tank. In the use of siphons of the kind described, as heretofore constructed, the level at which siphonic action ceased was determined by the bottom of the bell which was set as nearly as possible so as to locate its bottom near the bottom level of the discharge pipe. It is very diiicult, however, inthe case of siphons of the characterl described, to properly adjust the mouth of the bell with reference to the level of the bottom of the discharge pipe and, when once set, it is -cliicult and practically impossible to change this level, especially in large siphons where the bells run from 8 to 12 inches in diameter. By the use of the new vent ydescribed, the bell may be set with its lower edge below the lower level of thedischarge pipe, since it is not necessary, in order to stop siphonic action, for the level of the water in the tank tofall below the bottom of the bell, which, of course, it can not do when the bottom of the bell is below the level of the bottom of the discharge pipe. The venting device can then be adjusted so -as to insure the venting of the main siphon when the level of the liquid in the tank is as nearly above the bottom of the discharge pipe as desired. Nice setting of the bell is not only thus rendered unnecessary, but the low level of the Siphon may be adjusted at any time to'suit the conditions under which the siphon is operating.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 is shown a modified` form ofmy improved vent. In said views' t-he vent vD is shown as pivotallyy secured to the wall of the bell near its top, pivotal connection bein made in any suitable manner, with a suita le stulfmg box being provided to make a tight joint. f In said figures, D1 indicates the long leg'of the vent; D2 the Ashort leg; Da .the transverse-connecting pipe connecting said legs at the bottom, and D4l the pivotal connection of the vent to the upperV part of the side wall `of the bell b1. The level of the transverse connecting pipe D8 may be adjusted .by swinging the vent, as a whole, upon its pivotal connection D* with the bell, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. The upper end of the short leg D2 pf the vent, being closer to the pivotal point t-han the bend connecting said legs, its level, that is to say, the level at which the Siphon will be sealed, will remain substantially fixed for various adjustments of the level of the bend by swinging the vent D on its pivotal connection with the bell, within the usual limits of adjustment of the bend required.

The details of construction by means of which the vent described may be made adjustable so as to adjust the level of the low head of the siphon may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction and arrangement illustrated and described herein except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In a siphon, in combination with the longer and the shorter leg thereof, of a vent adapted for determining both the sealing level and low head of the siphon embracing a U-shaped pipe having substantially upright legs, one of which is longer than the other, means connecting the longer leg of the vent with the interior of the Siphon, the upper end of the shorter leg of the vent being located substantially at the sealing level of the Siphon, and means for adjusting the level of the bend of said U-shaped ipe with reference to the substantially fixed) level of the said shorter leg of the vent, said means being adapted for varying the low head of the siphon, determined bv the height of the bend of the vent, to different levels below said sealing level of the siphon.

2. In a siphon of the class described including a vertical pipe forming the longer leg of the siphon and an vinverted bell located over the upper end of said pipe and formin the shorter leg of the Siphon, a vent adapte for determining both the sealin level and the low head of the siphon, sai vent being located without the bell and embracing a U-shaped pipe having substantially u right legs, one of said legs being longer than the other, means connecting the longer leg of the vent with the interior of the bell, the upper end of the shorter leg of said vent being located substantially a't the sealing level of the siphon, and means for adjusting the level of the bend of the U-shaped vent with reference to the substantially fixed level of the upper end of said shorter leg of said vent.

3. In a siphon of the class described including a vertical pipe forming the longer leg of the Siphon and an inverted bell located over the upper end of said pipe and forming the shorter leg of the siphon, a vent adapted to determine both the sealing level and low head of the Siphon, located without the bell and comprising two substantially upright pipes, one of said pipes being longer than the other, means connecting the longer pipe of the vent with the interior of the bell, means for supporting the shorter pipe of the vent with its upper end substantially at the sealing level of the siphon .and a U-shapcd pipe connecting the lower ends of said upright ipes of the vent, the legs of the U-shape pipe having telescoping connection with said upright pipes.

In testimony, that I, SAMUEL F. MILLER, claim the foregoing as my sole invention I ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this sixteenth day of August, A. D. 1909.

SAMUEL F. MILLER.

Witnesses:

WALTER C. KANE, E. M. FLUGGE. 

